1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automatic dispensing systems that are operable to automatically fill and label prescription vials or otherwise dispense pharmaceutical products to be labeled and dispensed as prescriptions to patients. More particularly, the invention relates to a collating unit operable to automatically store prescription containers dispensed from an automatic dispensing system for subsequent retrieval by an operator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automatic dispensing systems (“ADSs”), such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,919, have been developed to assist pharmacists in the filling and dispensing of prescriptions. ADSs are extremely helpful in automatically filling prescription vials with medicaments or automatically dispensing unit-of-use packages containing medicaments. However, busy pharmacies often do not have enough pharmacists, technicians, or other operators available to retrieve and store the vials and packages, i.e. the prescription containers, as quickly as an ADS outputs the containers. It is therefore common for prescription containers to be lined up on an outfeed conveyor of the ADS, waiting for retrieval and storage by the operator. When the operator wishes to retrieve a particular patient's container, the operator must look at and read a label of each container on the outfeed conveyor until finding the correct container. This method of retrieving prescription containers is time-consuming and presents a possibility for error, since the operator may easily pick up the wrong container in search of the patient's container. If the patient has several filled prescriptions corresponding to several containers, the operator must look through even more containers for the patient's containers. Further, if the ADS is filling the containers faster than the operator can retrieve the containers, place caps on the containers that are filled prescription vials, and store the containers, then the operator may likely store the containers on a counter top in the pharmacy. This presents the possibility of containers becoming disorganized, or of even more concern, containers being knocked over. If the containers are filled prescription vials, then since the vials are not yet capped when they exit the ADS, then medicaments may spill from toppled vials onto the counter top or onto the floor. Further, there is the possibility other items may inadvertently be placed in the vials, such as other medicaments or particulates, such as dust accumulated on the counter top or floor.
If the pharmacy does provide multiple pharmacists, technicians, or other operators to retrieve and store the prescription containers exiting the ADS, one or more persons are necessarily moving around the outfeed conveyor of the ADS. Since the area around the conveyor is relatively small, these persons are likely to bump into each other or otherwise cause a disruptive work environment. Further, with multiple persons retrieving the containers, the containers may become misplaced, or the contents of filled prescription vials may be spilled. It is also possible that one or more of the containers dispensed for a given patient may be retrieved by one operator while other container(s) for the same patient may be retrieved by another operator. This may cause confusion, and when this happens, the patient may inadvertently leave the pharmacy without all of the required prescription containers. Requiring additional operators for managing retrieval and storage of the containers also increases the overall operating costs of the pharmacy.
Once the operator finds the correct container for the patient, the container is usually packaged in a bag having a label identifying the patient's name for whom the container is intended, a prescription number for the prescription associated with the container, and other relevant and identifying information for the prescription. If the patient requires multiple containers, all containers would normally be packaged in the same bag. A prescription label for each prescription stored in the bag is then normally stapled to the bag. The bag is then stored, normally in alphabetical order, in a bin or other storage receptacle. As bags for various patients are stored in the bin, the bags are bunched together, which often makes it difficult to find a bag for a particular patient. Further, if a bag is mistakenly placed in the bin out of alphabetical order, upon retrieval of the bag, the operator is required to conduct a more extensive search of the stored bags for the desired bag.
If the patient has several prescriptions corresponding to several filled containers, all the containers should be packaged in the same bag for retrieval by the operator. However, it is common for multiple prescription containers to be packaged in separate bags for a variety of reasons. For example, if prescriptions are entered into a control system of the ADS at separate times, as opposed to being entered at approximately the same time, then the containers containing the prescribed medicament will exit the ADS at separate intervals. The operator retrieving the containers from the ADS outfeed conveyor will then likely package the containers as they exit the ADS, as opposed to retrieving a container for a patient, recognizing that other containers will be forthcoming from the ADS, and temporarily setting the retrieved container aside to wait for the other containers for the patient to exit the ADS. When the last container for the patient has exited the ADS, the operator must then retrieve all containers for the patient that have been set aside, package the containers in a bag, and store the bag in alphabetical order in the storage bin. If the operator sets aside multiple containers for multiple patients, the counter top of the pharmacy is likely to become full with prescription containers awaiting packaging, which increases the possibility of misplacing a container or of even more concern, incorrectly packaging a container in the wrong bag.
To alleviate some of the problems associated with retrieving dispensed prescription containers, ADSs are often provided with a control center or other end unit, wherein prescription containers filled with medicaments are conveyed to the control center via the outfeed conveyor of the ADS. Most prior art control centers are static in that they are simply a cabinet or handling station at which the operator retrieves a filled container from the outfeed conveyor, places a cap on the container if it is a filled prescription vial, packages the container in a bag or other package, and stores the container in a storage receptacle or bin based on a patient's name.
Automated control centers have been developed which are operable to automatically store the containers exiting the ADS. Such automated control centers commonly include a storage unit having a plurality of holding slots, holding areas, or other storage mechanism in which the prescription containers are stored. Unfortunately, prior art automated control centers are limited to storing only one prescription container per a slot or compartment. Additionally, prior art automated control centers store the container based on a prescription number associated with the container, as opposed to storing the container based on a patient name for whom the container is intended. This is especially inconvenient for several reasons. First, many patients now receive more than one prescription at a time, and thus, more than one prescription container will be associated with each patient. Since prior art automated control centers are only operable to store one container per a slot, an operator retrieving stored containers for a patient must retrieve containers from several different slots. Further, because the slots in which the containers for the patient are stored are not necessarily next to each other, or even proximate to each other, the operator is required to look for containers at several various locations within the storage unit.
Second, prior art automated control centers are only operable to store the container for the patient under the prescription number, and thus, any indicator for the slot in which the container is stored only displays the prescription number. The operator is then required to cross-reference the prescription number to the patient name by either viewing the prescription number on paperwork for the prescription, viewing the prescription number on the indicator for the slot, and determining if the numbers match, or viewing the prescription number on a display, such as a computer monitor, and matching the prescription number to the number on the indicator. This is time-consuming and prone to error since the operator must match prescription numbers that are often several digits in length.
As noted above, many ADSs already include static control centers. To automate the static control centers, the static control centers must either be completely replaced with automated control centers having storage units for storing the prescription containers, or the static control centers must be substantially modified to include the storage units. Extensive modification or replacement of the static control centers is required because the storage units for storing the prescription containers are normally large and bulky and include many structural items not found in existing static control centers. Therefore, prior art static control centers cannot be easily and inexpensively modified to include storage units for storing prescription containers.
Another limitation of prior art automated control centers is that they are not configured to simultaneously store both unit-of-use packages containing medicaments and filled prescription vials. This is especially problematic because many medicaments are now pre-packaged in unit-of-use packages, especially in Europe.
Further yet, prior art automated control centers are often relatively expensive, due to their large size and numerous features.
There is therefore a need for an automated storage unit configured to be easily used with an existing static control center. More particularly, there is a need for a storage unit that automatically stores a prescription container containing medicaments and dispensed from an automatic dispensing system for subsequent retrieval by an operator. There is also a need for a unit operable to store more than one container in a holding area. Additionally, there is a need for a unit operable to collate multiple containers for a patient in one holding area. Further, there is a need for a unit operable to store a container for a patient based on the patient's name, as opposed to a prescription number associated with the container. Additionally, there is a need for a unit that is configured to simultaneously store both prescription vials and/or packages containing medicaments in a staging area such that multiple prescriptions for a patient, whether in the form of prescription vials, unit-of-use packages, or a combination thereof, are grouped together for easy retrieval. Even further, there is a need for a unit that is relatively inexpensive.